What camera do you use to film your videos?

[mocbuild101]

I am looking for a descent mid-range camera (at least 1080p) to replace my smartphone's camera, and I'd like to know what you have/are using.

So my question is simple: What camera do you use to film your videos of your MOCs?

If you use more than one, please list all of them, or if you have upgraded to a higher-end camera, please list both your new one and your old one(s).

[Leonard Goldstein]

Hi mocbuild101,

first a (newer) smartphone is not that bad: for example I used my iPhone 7 for the indoor videos of my Mini-Truck:

And the iPhone offers a slow-motion-mode with 240 pics/second. Important thing of course is to use a tripod. I got a simple one from amazon for about 35 Euro and it includes a bluetooth remote control (no need to touch the phone => no blurring).

 

But although  I am quite happy with my phone, it has its limitations. There is only a digital zoom, no optical (I know, the 7+ has one). And you have to preselect the zoom. No zooming while filming. And the very small objective cannot be as rapid as a big one. That is why I use a Sony Camcorder in addition. It is a little bit older ("HDR-PJ260"), but it makes a great job. Most of my outdoor videos were made with it.

Regards

Leonard Goldstein

 

 

[dr_spock]

What is your budget?  What do you find lacking with your current equipment? 

I still use a Fujifilm XP10.  It's 720p.  I find it quicker to edit than the 1080p files out of my Canon M3. 

[mocbuild101]

55 minutes ago, dr_spock said:

What is your budget?  What do you find lacking with your current equipment? 

Less than $100, but I should be able to get more expensive ones second-hand from ebay.

Mainly that I need my smartphone for controlling my SBrick, but it also doesn't have manual focus - which is sometimes very frustrating...

Edited December 21, 2017 by mocbuild101

[Boulderer]

That's a tight budget.  Not sure that it would start to touch "mid range" equipment 

[doug72]

I use a Canon PowerShot AS2300 HD compact camera for photos and for videos at 640 x 480 or 1280 x 720HD usually hand held.

[Superkoala]

For the film, depending what type of view i want to do (and which one has some battery ) I can use either:

• My old Nikon D3200 with a 18-55mm (I use to make some photography as a hobby years ago): great quality to film in HD, but no autofocus. It is still a little expensive even in 2nd hand, but an older reflex able to film n HD could be found in your budget.
• My old gopro Hero 3+ Black: it is small enough to fit in some MOC, setting can be adjust to have a narrow field of view (90° instead of 127°). Quality is "acceptable". On eBay or another site you can find one (or a Hero Session which is even smaller) for a reasonable price.
• An Iphone 7: perfect for very short videos, good quality of image and stabilisation. But don't buy one only to film Lego, it isn't what we can call cheap :)
• A Nikon P900: my backup solution when the other Nikon has no battery. Typically it has the sensor from a compact, so the image quality for movie isn't great particularly in low light. It's a good camera for plane and bird but not for indoor film.

Just for information, I use Gopro Studio to assemble the movie. Not the best but simple to use and enough for my videos.

Edited December 21, 2017 by Superkoala
Typo correction

[mocbuild101]

32 minutes ago, Boulderer said:

Not sure that it would start to touch "mid range" equipment 

Well I consider mid-range as being in between "cheapo" and "pro".

Just now, Superkoala said:

My old gopro Hero 3+ Black: it is small enough to fit in some MOC, setting can be adjust to have a narrow field of view (90° instead of 127°). Quality is "acceptable". On eBay or another site you can find one (or a Hero Session which is even smaller) for a reasonable price.

I was thinking about that, but I thought the video wouldn't look any good because of the "fish eye" effect. (I think that's what it's called...)

[Superkoala]

25 minutes ago, mocbuild101 said:

I was thinking about that, but I thought the video wouldn't look any good because of the "fish eye" effect. (I think that's what it's called...)

Fish eye is a problem, and I don't like it either.

But if you check the spec of the Gopro some of them are able to change the Filed of View (the Black series can, I don' know for the others)

[Splat]

I use 3 different cameras, all getting a bit old now, but still work fine.  I typically upload videos at 720p, so I don't mind shooting at this lower resolution.  As @dr_spock mentioned, I find these 720p videos easier/quicker to edit and upload.

1. Canon 60D DSLR camera with various lenses.  I actually don't like shooting Lego models with this camera too much.  It has limited settings for the video resolution/frame rate, and unless you have good lighting you will have to use a larger ISO and large aperture (the shutter speed is limited by the frame rate).  This means that you end up with a shallow depth-of-field, meaning that a large portion of the frame is out-of-focus, and if you aren't careful, the wrong part of the frame is out-of-focus.
2. Canon PowerShot SD980 IS / Digital IXUS 200 IS.  This is my smaller point-and-shoot camera.  As the sensor is smaller than the DSLR, it has a larger depth-of-field, which can be an advantage when shooting something at close range, especially when you are trying to document your Lego model as opposed to creating an 'artsy' type of shot.  This camera only captures at 720p, but it is about 8 years old now, and I should probably update it soon.
3. GoPro Hero 4 Session.  This camera is great for attaching to your Lego model to get that shot where it looks like you are riding inside/beside your model.  I have used this on remote controlled cars/trucks/tanks, as well as attaching it to Lego trains, etc.  There is a vast array of attachments for this camera, and these can be mounted to Lego, but I tend to just use a piece of strong double sided tape (the stuff that is used to stick down carpet - link).  This is strong enough to stick to the Lego and keep the camera in place, yet easy enough to remove after use.

I also recommend having a tripod, even if it is just something small like a GorillaPod or similar.

[Aventador2004]

3 hours ago, mocbuild101 said:

I was thinking about that, but I thought the video wouldn't look any good because of the "fish eye" effect. (I think that's what it's called...)

I deleted the pictures here, but yes, the gopro does do that, and I cannot adjust mine. It actually is really good for filming helmet camera go karting.

[Trekkie99]

I own a couple of Canon powershots, and they all work great! Even the really old ones. And a 1/4 inch bolt with a handfull of Lego components can make a tripod that can attach to a train for example. Buying second hand is also a good idea, because a perfectly good camera will often be replaced with an updated version and lower the overall price of the older model significantly in some cases.

[Aventador2004]

Just now, LegoMonorailFan said:

I own a couple of Canon powershots, and they all work great! Even the really old ones. And a 1/4 inch bolt with a handfull of Lego components can make a tripod that can attach to a train for example. Buying second hand is also a good idea, because a perfectly good camera will often be replaced with an updated version and lower the overall price of the older model significantly in some cases.

Like a Canon powershot 1200s? Cause that is what I use.

[DugaldIC]

Although I've only used it once for Lego purposes and the filming of my Aston build I use a Canon GX7 MKII along with Activeon CX golds for wide angle shots. They all seem to work well for their purpose! Along with a few Lego made Dolly's.... Which unfortunately didn't work nearly as well as I liked. Also a friend of mine has come across this camera which seems pretty cool https://revl.com

It's essentialy an action camera with a built in Gimbal. 

[OGTrout]

That revl camera looks very smart. Quite pricey though

I've recently been messing about with a 4K gopro knock off I've borrowed from work. It's an Apeman A80, they're currently on amazon for £68. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Underwater-Waterproof-Wide-Angle-Batteries-Accessories/dp/B01JS00NFE . There's loads of sample footage on youtube if anyone is interested in it. 

One of the nifty features is wifi connectivity, meaning you can stream the video view to a mobile. Stick some lamps on your car and you've got yourself a little exploration vehicle (providing you don't lose IR connectivity!)

Conveniently it also sits nicely between upright pins with pin connectors on a frame, making it fairly easy to pin to stuff

 

[zor2ox]

Im now filming with my Sony A5100, it got 1080p 60fps, neat enough for all the motions. It is now an old model so the price will not hurt your wallet much :D

[DrJB]

The GoPro Session (small cube) is ideal for many such applications. It retails for around US $150, and it includes both an SD card and a handheld stick. Not sure about the price in Australia though :(.

4 hours ago, Splat said:

1. GoPro Hero 4 Session.  This camera is great for attaching to your Lego model to get that shot where it looks like you are riding inside/beside your model.  I have used this on remote controlled cars/trucks/tanks, as well as attaching it to Lego trains, etc.  There is a vast array of attachments for this camera, and these can be mounted to Lego, but I tend to just use a piece of strong double sided tape (the stuff that is used to stick down carpet - link).  This is strong enough to stick to the Lego and keep the camera in place, yet easy enough to remove after use.

Edited December 21, 2017 by DrJB

[BusterHaus]

I added this topic to the Technic Video Tips, it has some very good information.

[kbalage]

What I used to have (that was my hobby photography gear for years, collected most of the lenses during that time):

- Olympus OM-D EM-5 MFT (micro four thirds format) camera + 12-50mm kit lens. Decent camera with great build-in stabilisation, took very good photos even after 4 years. Cons: only 1080p 30fps video with limited options. I wanted to have slow motion ability and 4K to be able to stabilize and crop in post. Example video with the camera and various lenses: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVxeDh4IeEQ

What I have now:

- Panasonic GH5 MFT camera with 12-60mm kit lens (killer video/still camera, tons of options like 4k@60fps, 1080p@180fps). My recent videos were made using this camera, like this one (includes slow motion footage as well): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3D0Zz4N5zD0
- Olympus 45mm F1.8 lens - good for mid-range shots with very creamy bokeh wide open, example shot: https://youtu.be/LZGmyuzo2Uw?t=4
- Panasonic 100-300mm lens - good telephoto with mediocre focus speed/accuracy, example shot: https://youtu.be/3D0Zz4N5zD0?t=175
- Laowa 7.5mm F2 lens - super wide angle lens with fast aperture and wide field of view without fish eye distortion. Used it for my recent speed builds like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sE0lMNG4emY&t=62s

- SJcam SJ7 Star action camera - can do 4K and 1080p@120fps, although due to the small sensor and the low bitrate the results are not the best. Example slow-mo shot: https://youtu.be/6fgP2zNAWJY?t=199

Regarding your question, $100 is a very tight budget. That won't be enough for a mid-range camera, that's a budget for an entry level compact or a simple action camera. You need to specify what would you like to shoot - photo or video? Would you like to do action shots, e.g. camera mounted on your Lego creations?
If you'd like to shoot photo mainly or both photo/video, take a look at the few years old compact camera models, like the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W830. 20 mpx, 8x optical zoom, decent macro, 720p video. If you stretch the budget you can get something like a used Canon PowerShot ELPH 360 HS which has 1080p video recording as well. 
If the main usage is filming and especially action/slow-mo footage, then I suggest to get a cheaper used GoPro like the Session 4 mentioned before. You can get 1080p@60fps video which is good for basic slow motion and has a decent quality. I wouldn't go with the cheaper action cameras under/around $100, they might even promise 4K but resolution is only one factor. If the bitrate is low and the compression is crappy you will not be happy with the result.
 

Edited December 21, 2017 by kbalage

[Aleh]

Oh guys, I'm filming on my old iPhone 5 

[Myers Lego Technic]

This is not within in your price range but I'm a bit of a filmmaker as well as a Lego hobbyist. 

Gear I use: Canon T5/1200D (about $300 used American, $400 Canadian), Manfrotto 290 XTRA tripod and video head, Tascam DR-701 D Audio recorder, Sennheiser MKE 600 Shotgun Mic, canon 50 mm f/1.4, and for long shots/wildlife shots Sigma 150-600 f/5-6.3 

(Additional stuff that can help with video production if you raise your price limit: I use the Sennheiser HD 380 pro headphones for audio monitoring + the LyxPro Mpl-20 boompole for better audio) 

Sorry for the crappy quality, Ipad photos) 

 

Edited December 21, 2017 by Myers Lego Technic

[Andy D]

I use a GoPro and mostly a Panasonic ZS40. I like the Panasonic for the features and price. The Panasonic can be had for less than $300. The GoPro session is really a great idea! It has 1080p and is small enough to be attached to many LEGO models. As others have said the GoPro session can be had for $150 (sometimes less).

One more nice feature for the GoPro is that you can use your IOS or Android smart phone as a view finder and to control all of the camera's functions.

Good luck with your search.

Andy D

Edited December 21, 2017 by Andy D

[Boulderer]

@Myers Lego Technic I love that the person with perhaps the best kit is apologetic about the crappy photos. Irony? ?

[Myers Lego Technic]

@Boulderer , Maybe it's time I bought a new camera so I can take better pictures of my other camera. 

[Aventador2004]

1 hour ago, Myers Lego Technic said:

@Boulderer , Maybe it's time I bought a new camera so I can take better pictures of my other camera. 

Camera-ception!